While there’s no doubt that fajitas are one of the fastest, tastiest meals out there, they can also be one of the healthiest meals with a few simple adjustments. If you’re following a low-carb or keto diet, it’s easy to leave the carbs to the side in this low-carb recipe, and add in some keto-friendly substitutes instead.
Plus, you can absolutely switch up this one-pan fajita recipe to make it your own – by adding in a variety of additional veggies, spices and even protein choices. Instead of chicken or flank steak, try some succulent grilled shrimp, scallops, or your favorite type of fish. And as for the added ingredients, as long as you aren’t using highly-processed ones with fillers or additives, the options or endless. Just remember to keep it fresh!
What’s In This One-Pan Fajita Recipe?
This healthy fajita recipe features all your basic ingredients, including sliced chicken or flank steak, onion, green and red bell peppers, (or whatever color peppers you choose), plus the toppings of your choice. In addition, the recipe has two major adjustments from regular fajita recipes, which makes it much cleaner/healthier… it uses olive oil instead of vegetable oil, and leaves out the flour tortillas! Don’t worry, we’ll give you some tasty alternatives!
For seasoning, you can use a natural brand of taco seasoning, or make your own. And as for toppings, use lots of fresh, healthful options such as avocado, olives, sour cream, tomato, lettuce, cilantro, jalapeno and cheese.
After mixing up the seasoning with the meat and veggies, and cooking it, the entire platter can be placed on rice for some complex carbohydrates, or lettuce or cauliflower rice to keep the carb count down. But you won’t miss out on flavor, promise!
Let’s look at some of the health benefits of this recipe…
What Are the Health Benefits of This Fajita Recipe?
Obviously, you already know chicken is an excellent source for low-fat, low-calorie protein. While flank steak will add more fat to the dish, it’s also a leaner choice for a steak – with less calories and more protein than other cuts of meat. So, if you’re following a keto diet and need to keep your fat count up, make sure you get lots of it from the oil and toppings such as olives or avocados.
It’s also important to make sure you get enough nutrients and fiber while you’re on a keto diet, and the veggies in this recipe can help you do that. Bell peppers are not only a low-carb veggie, (with one red bell pepper containing 6g net carbs), but they also provide a plethora of vitamins and other beneficial nutrients.
All bell peppers are very high in vitamin C, with just one providing around 169% of the recommended daily value! They’re also high in vitamins K1, E, and A, along with folate and potassium.
Although you can choose any color peppers you want for this recipe, keep in mind that red, yellow and orange bell peppers will contain more nutrients than green – because green peppers are actually unripe peppers! If picked at peak freshness, they would be red or orange in hue. Due to this, they also have a distinct, slightly bitter taste, versus the sweetness of the other types – so it all depends on which you prefer!
Next, if you decide to top off your fajitas with avocado cubes (which is a fantastic idea!), you’ll provide your body with a hefty dose of vitamins C, E, K and B-6, along with riboflavin, magnesium and potassium – plus loads of healthy fat and dietary fiber. The fruit is rich in omega-3 fats, which are the healthiest for you, and work to reduce plaque in your arteries, supporting optimal heart health.
Other great high-fat choices for toppings if you’re doing keto and trying to get 70-75% of your daily calories from fats include olives, sour cream, and cheese. To find out the exact macro-nutrients for you while on the keto diet, check out this free keto calculator here.
One-Pan Fajita Dinner Recipe
Ready to get cooking?! Here’s the simple, healthy, and flavorful recipe, below! With only 257 calories per serving, 35g of protein, and 10g of healthy fat (before toppings), it’s the perfect base recipe to add to your monthly meal calendar – and you can try new variations at a whim!
Ingredients:
Serves 4
- 1 lb chicken or flank steak, sliced into strips
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp taco seasoning
- salt and pepper
- Optional toppings: avocado, sour cream, tomato, cilantro, cheese, jalapeno, etc.
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F and lightly grease a baking tray.
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well until meat and veggies are coated in olive oil and seasoning.
- Evenly spread meat and veggies on the baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until meat is cooked to preference and veggies are tender.
- Enjoy as is, or serve over lettuce, rice, or cauliflower rice!
Nutrition:
- 257 calories
- 7 g carbs
- 5 g net carbs
- 10 g fat
- 35 g protein
What's your go-to healthy dinner? Let us know in the comments below!
Looking for more healthy recipes? Check out other delicious nutritionist-approved 310 Nutrition recipes here!
